The present invention generally relates to rotary recording medium reproducing apparatuses capable of placing and leaving a rotary information recording medium in a state possible for reproduction within the reproducing apparatus when a jacket having a lid member for accommodating the recording medium therein is inserted into and then pulled out from within the reproducing apparatus, and also capable of incasing the recording medium within the jacket so that the recording medium can be obtained outside the reproducing apparatus together with the jacket, when the empty jacket is inserted into and then pulled out from within the reproducing apparatus. The present invention relates more particularly to a rotary recording medium reproducing apparatus having a mechanism for connecting the lid member to the jacket when the rotary recording medium inside the reproducing apparatus is to be accommodated within the jacket and obtained outside the reproducing apparatus.
Conventionally, in an apparatus for reproducing a rotary recording medium (referring to video disc, PCM audio disc, and the like, and hereinafter simply referred to as a disc), there are types of apparatuses in which a disc is reproduced when the disc is loaded upon clamping and placing of the disc within the reproducing apparatus, by inserting into and then pulling out a disc jacket (disc case) which has a lid and accommodates a disc therein, from within the reproducing apparatus.
As a conventional apparatus of this type, a reproducing apparatus was proposed in a U.S. patent application Ser. No. 231,868 filed Feb. 5, 1981, entitled "DISC-SHAPED RECORDING MEDIUM REPRODUCING APPARATUS" in which the assignee is the same as that of the present application. This previously proposed reproducing apparatus operates together with a disc case comprising a jacket which has a space for accommodating a disc and an opening for allowing the disc to go in and out of the jacket, and a lid member inserted through the opening of the jacket for closing the opening of the jacket, where the reproducing apparatus comprises an inserting opening through which the case is inserted, a turntable for rotating the disc, holding means provided at an innermost part on the opposite side from the inserting opening with respect to the turntable, for holding the lid member, lowering and raising means for lowering the disc to a position where the disc is placed on the turntable from a holding position where the disc is held by the holding means upon starting of the reproduction and raising the disc to the holding position from the turntable upon finishing or discontinuing of the reproduction, a reproducing transducer for reproducing the disc placed on the turntable, and moving means for moving the reproducing transducer from a waiting position to a reproducing position with respect to the disc.
In the above reproducing apparatus, a mechanism is provided for releasing connection of the lid member with respect to the jacket when the disc case is inserted into he reproducing apparatus to load the disc inside the reproducing apparatus, and for connecting the lid member left within the reproducing apparatus to the jacket when an empty jacket is inserted into the reproducing apparatus to recover the disc inside the reproducing apparatus.
In the conventional mechanism for connecting the lid member to the jacket, engagement releasing arm members are fixedly provided at innermost parts of the reproducing apparatus, with a predetermined positional relationship with respect to lid member clamping means and the like. When the disc case is inserted into the reproducing apparatus, the engagement releasing arm members relatively push and displace engaging arms of the lid member, to release the connection of the lid member with respect to the jacket. Further, when an empty jacket is inserted into a final position and then pulled out, the lid member follows the jacket due to the action of a spring. As the lid member moves to a predetermined position by following the jacket, the engaging arms of the lid member respectively separate from the engagement releasing arm members and return to the original states. Accordingly, the lid member is connected to the jacket by these engaging arms.
Since the engagement releasing arm members are fixedly provided in the above conventional mechanism, the position where the engaging arms of the lid member separate from the engagement releasing arm members when the jacket is pulled out from the reproducing apparatus, that is, an anticipated position where the lid member connects to the jacket, is at a relatively separated position from the final inserting position of the jacket.
Moreover, there are cases where an operation is performed to insert the jacket into the final position and then pull out the jacket in a rapid manner, upon recovering of the disc within the jacket. When the jacket is pulled out rapidly, the initial moving speed of the jacket is not high since the movement is immediately after the moving direction of the jacket has reversed. However, the moving speed of the jacket gradually increases as the jacket separates from the final inserting position. Therefore, when the anticipated position where the lid member connects to the jacket is relatively separated from the final inserting position of the jacket as in the conventional mechanism, the moving speed of the jacket becomes relatively high when the jacket reaches the above anticipated position. Hence, it becomes impossible for the lid member to follow the movement of the jacket. As a result, by the time the lid member reaches the above anticipated position where the lid member connects to the jacket, the jacket has already passed beyond the anticipated position. Accordingly, only the jacket is pulled out from the reproducing apparatus without being connected to the jacket, and the disc cannot be recovered within the jacket.
That is, in the conventional reproducing apparatus, there was a disadvantage in that the disc cannot be recovered within the jacket, when the operation to recover the disc from the reproducing apparatus is performed in a rapid manner.